Assessment of ecosystem services of green spaces in Yoshkar-Ola

In many parts of the world, urban green spaces are being explored as a source of ecosystem services. Their role in the provision of regulation of and, support of ecosystem services and even in the provision of cultural services is considered. At the same time, species assessment of the composition and vital condition of trees that provide ecosystem benefits in an urbanized environment is becoming increasingly relevant. The purpose of this study was to assess the contribution of the most common species of woody plants in urban greening to the provision of ecosystem services. The research was carried out in Yoshkar-Ola, in different functional areas of the city: residential, recreational and industrial, where the assortment of trees was studied and their vital condition was assessed. For the most common tree species, the potential supply of providing ecosystem services was determined on a ten-point scale, taking into account adverse effects (so-called «ecosystem disservices»). It was established that Betula pendula, Tilia cordata, Sorbus aucuparia were the predominant species in the landscaping of the city, their share in the studied plantings reached 36–64%. Of the introduced species, Acer negundo, Picea pungens, and Thuja occidentalis are the most common in the landscaping of the city. Most of the trees of different functional zones belonged to the 1st and 2nd categories of life condition (healthy and with signs of slight oppression). Strongly weakened trees accounted for no more than 12% of the total number, and dying plants were rare. Betula pendula makes a significant contribution to the provision of ecosystem services in Yoshkar-Ola. Tilia cordata, Picea pungens and Sorbus aucuparia – do so mainly due to their high carbon storage capacity, phytoncide and aesthetic value. Acer negundo is considered to be a dangerous urban explerent and, despite its regulating and maintaining ecosystem services, its distribution in the urban environment should be limited.